Earlier in the season, many sports writers felt the Pacific 10 Conference was going to be a two-team race. With a talented UCLA team returning all five starters and Stanford finally having a healthy big man, no one thought that anyone else had a chance.

Things haven't quite turned out that way.

The season is just one month old, and, already, then-No. 5 UCLA has fallen to a then-unranked Tulsa team, while unranked California upset 17th-ranked Massachusetts and Arizona stunned then-No. 7 North Carolina.

So amid all this chaos, it's time for some direction to let the fans know which Pac-10 teams will (and won't) be playing come March.

The first team on all the lists has been the Bruins. Here is a team with enough talent to make Michigan's "Fab Five" green with envy, but no one to lead them. For that reason, the Bruins will end the season a disappointing third place in the conference. The other nine spots? Well here they are in the order of their projected finish:

Stanford, Arizona, Southern Cal, Washington, Oregon, Cal, Washington State, Oregon State and Arizona State.

Stanford has something that all other teams in the Pac-10 are desperately searching for: leadership. Senior guard Brevin Knight will take all the pressure on his shoulders and deliver the Cardinal its first conference title since 1963. Knight finished last season leading the league in steals (2.1 per game) and assists (7.3 per game), while still scoring 15.5 points a game.

While Knight has lost his other four starting teammates from last season, he does have two impact players entering the lineup this season. Sophomore Tim Young, a 7-foot-1 center, and 6-9 junior Pete Van Elswyk should be the benefactors of Knight's unselfish nature this season. Young had to sit out last season with back problems, but averaged 12.3 points and 8.6 rebounds as a freshman. Van Elswyk, a transfer from South Carolina, will look to capitalize off the inevitable double teams on Young in the middle.

UCLA has five proven scorers, but there is only one ball. Last season the Bruins could not find the open man and, consequently, ended up last in the league in turnover margin. In a nutshell, UCLA needs someone to step up and lead this team.

If the recent events surrounding former coach Jim Harrick are any idea of what's in the future, that leadership is not going to come from the coaching staff. The top players to fill this position are erratic senior forward Charles O'Bannon and injury-prone senior point guard Cameron Dollar. Last year O'Bannon got his chance to lead the team, and it lost in the first round to Princeton. Dollar showed floor leadership at times last season, but an injured hand limited his playing time.

With only four underclassmen, USC is one of the most experienced teams in the conference. Add Kentucky transfer Rodrick Rhodes to the mix, and this team could surprise some people. Its success, however, will hinge on the play of senior point guard Stais Boseman, the league's best defender.

The Trojans also have one of the league's top rebounders in forward Jaha Wilson. While Wilson didn't get many shots last season - he scored 10.7 points a game - he was among the league's best rebounders, grabbing 7.8 a game, despite being only 6-5.

Other top players in the Pac-10 to watch out for are Washington State guard Isaac Fontaine, Washington forward Mark Sanford and Cal guard Ed Gray. Fontaine scored 18.1 points a game last season and his 48.5 percent mark from three-point range makes him the league's top threat from that distance. Last year, Sanford averaged 16.5 points and 6.1 rebounds a game. His decision to forgo the NBA draft and return to UW gives it a shot at a National Invitation Tournament berth. Gray will try to pick up the scoring slack after seeing two teammates, Jelani Gardner and Tremaine Fowlkes, transfer, and another, Shareef Abdur-Rahim, enter the NBA.

---

Daily Wildcat News Opinions Sports PoliceBeat Comics